Four Gugulethu men accused of stealing vleis worth a whopping R500 000 have been sent to the mang and will now proceed with their bail hearing.
This was revealed at Athlone Magistrates’ Court on Monday where Fanuel Sibata, Prosper Ndivihuwa, Bothando Ngcingwana and Daniel Mbata made their first appearance after being busted with a truck filled with lamb and liver last week.
The men were busted by Metro Police on Thursday morning in Manenberg after a driver they had hired called police to piemp them after they fraudulently obtained the shipment of vleis from a supplier in Kimberley.
At the time, Manenberg SAPS Commander Sanele Zama says cops discovered that the group was part of a meat syndicate who defrauded suppliers from Kimberley to Cape Town.
Zama explained that a former employee of the meat supplier submitted fraudulent documents for an order of 200 whole lambs worth R465 000 and 20 boxes of liver worth R54 000.
As the paperwork seemed legit, the supplier sent the meat to Cape Town where the truck was stopped in Elsies River by a skelm posing as the owner of a local cash and carry and transferred to another truck.
The skelms then hired a Zimbabwean truck driver to offload the stock and instructed him to drive to various locations including Bellville, Charlesville and Mitchells Plain.
The driver became suspicious and after he was left alone in the truck, he called police.
During their appearance, the men were represented by two private attorneys who indicated their clients wanted to proceed with a bail application and the case resumes on 8 March.